Truck driving is one of the most common jobs in the USA, with 3.5m people taking to the road in their huge vehicles every day. Even then, there is a shortage of workers. Trucker culture and history is deeply storied, and with it comes a myriad of facts that many people wouldn’t ever have dreamed of.
Trucking is one of the most dangerous vocations
On the face of it, trucking doesn’t seem dangerous. With a bit of rest and concentration, long, straight drives should be easy. However, there are many treacherous roads all over the country that lead to truckers making up 2.4% of all road fatalities. Texas is one such area, with dozens of legal cases presented each year. Truck accidents are often complex cases, and a local truck accident lawyer Austin, Houston or Dallas based will present dozens of cases every year, given the propensity of the state to experience flash floods.
Truckers earn a decent salary
Driving jobs are not typically well rewarded, but this is different when it comes to truck drivers. According to KMM Sam, truckers can expect to earn $44,500 per year on average. This is in excess of the national average, and way above your average courier earnings. While this seems generous, it’s important to note the sheer amount of time that truckers spend away from their family and on the road, often completing their work in lonely and occasionally dangerous conditions.
The distances covered are huge
Truckers cover sometimes unbelievable distances. According to Cardinal Logistics, the average vehicle will expect to cover 105,000 miles in a single year. That’s equivalent to crossing the width of the USA and back 39 times over the course of a single year and shows the intense driving required to make the deliveries that the country relies on.
Trucking is far cleaner than before
Many people are concerned about the level of pollution that is created by the huge fleet of trucks being out on the road. Fortunately, this has reversed hugely since as recently as the 1980s. A study analyzed by Planet Freight found that a single truck in 1988 would put out 60 times the emissions of the same vehicle today, illustrating the efforts of truckers and their vehicles to get on the right side of the climate debate.
There is a national appreciation week
Truckers are often a misunderstood and underappreciated section of society. In attempts to recognize the arduous work they do every day to keep the nation stocked and supplied, the federal government has sponsored a National Truck Driver Appreciation Week. Running from September 10ᵗʰ, it coincides with many events held by national unions and trucker advocacy organizations and is well received by people across the country.
Truckers perform a role that has its perks but also pushes them away from the norms that people in more standard roles enjoy. As a result, culture and history have built up that would surprise most people. Through National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, the gratitude of consumers towards those long-driving men and women can be shown for years to come.